Jon Bon Jovi, R.E.M. & more sign open letter protesting “predatory use of AI”

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Artists including Jon Bon Jovi, R.E.M. and Peter Frampton have signed an open letter protesting the “predatory use of AI to steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem.”

The letter, which was put out by the organization Artist Rights Alliance, is also signed by Elvis Costello, the estate of Bob Marley, Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, as well as Sheryl Crow, Billie Eilish and FINNEAS, Pearl Jam, The Cure’s Robert Smith, Mumford & Sons and more.

“We, the undersigned members of the artist and songwriting communities, call on AI developers, technology companies, platforms and digital music services to cease the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to infringe upon and devalue the rights of human artists,” the letter begins.

The signees believe that “when used responsibly, AI has enormous potential to advance human creativity,” but, “When used irresponsibly, AI poses enormous threats to our ability to protect our privacy, our identities and our livelihoods.”

“Unchecked, AI will set in motion a race to the bottom that will degrade the value of our work and prevent us from being fairly compensated for it,” the letter continues. “This assault of human creativity must be stopped.”

It concludes, “We call on all AI developers, technology companies, platforms and digital music services to pledge that they will not develop or deploy AI music-generation technology, content or tools that undermine or replace the human artistry of songwriters and artists or deny us fair compensation for our work.”